Compound tear label

ABSTRACT

A compound label comprising an outer label having a tear tab disposed about an inner label secured in place about the neck of a bottle, for example, the outer label being removable from the bottle neck to expose the inner label when it is desired to reorder another bottle of the same expended contents.

Mme 111 Mules wmlem Morgan Aug. 7, 1973 COMPOUND TEAIR LAML 881,0113/1908 Lambert 283/21 [76] In ento Amhm y J- Mmgmn, PO. BOX 388,3,335,937 8/1967 Kramer 40/312 Elmira, NY. 14901 I Primary Examiner-Wm.1-1. Grieb [22] Sept W711 Attorney-Watson, Cole, Grindle & Watson [21]Appl. No.: 181,331

v [57] ABSTRACT [52] US. Cl. 40/3110, 40/21 B, 283/21 [51 1111. c1.@1191 3/11 A compmmd label havmg a 58 Field 01 Search 40/306 310 312dislmed label Place 40/21 B 21 about the neck ofa bottle, for example,the outer label being removable from the bottle neck to expose the [56]References (med inner label when it is desired to reorder another bottleUNITED STATES PATENTS Rheinstrom 40/310 of the same expended contents.

2 Claims; 6 Drawing Figures CUMIPOUNID TIEAR lLAlBlElL This inventionrelates generally to a compound tear label, and more particularly to anouter label disposed about an inner label which is normally secured to acontainer; the outer label being removable therefrom to thereby exposethe brightly colored or luminescent inner label for the purpose ofsignalling for another container of the same expended contents.

It has not been an uncommon experience for beer drinkers, for example,to patiently wait for the bartender or waiter to serve them anotherbottle of beer. Many times the patron holds up his hand, shouts, or evenholds up his beer bottle in an attempt to attract the attention of thebartender or waiter in reordering another round of beer. It becomesannoying to the patron if he must continually interrupt his conversationor other activity in signalling the bartender or waiter so that it wouldbe to his distinct advantage if he were able to conveniently signal foranother beer order without having to make any overt gestures to thebartender or waiter. A simple and effective solution to such a problemis to use the beer bottle label itself for signalling the bartender orwaiter that another round of beer is desired. A compound labelcomprising an inner and outer label disposed about some portion of thebeer bottle has therefore been devised in a manner whereby the outerlabel may be simply torn away, thereby exposing a brightly colored oreven luminescent inner label which would be understood by the beerserver as a signal for serving another bottle of beer.

Although labels of differenttypes have been designed for a wide varietyof purposes, none of them conveniently serve the purpose as the typeprovided herein. For example, some portion of a single label may bedesigned to be torn away for the purpose of defacing the label so as toprevent refilling or re-using of the bottle that has once been usedwithout first destroying the label. Or, a label of a two-partconstruction has been made available wherein an outer label may be tornaway from an inner label along a perforated line of weakening to exposethe inner label containing indicia relating to directions for using thebottle which may contain some commodity. Moreover, a booklet-type labelhas been devised to similarly be torn along a perforated line ofweakening, thereby leaving a portion of the label affixed to thecontainer so that the booklet which may contain a recipe or the like maybe preserved by the user. It can therefore be seen that in these and inother prior art multiple-type labels, the primary objective has been tomaintain the identity of some portion of the original label, requiring asomewhat complex construction and for a purpose unlike that of thepresent invention.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a compound labelcomprising an outer label lightly secured to an inner label which isaffixed to some portion of a container, the outer label being completelyremovable from the inner label by means of an elongated tear strip tothereby expose a completely distinctive inner label for the purpose ofconveniently and effectively signalling for the reorder of another fullcontainer.

Another object of this invention, is to provide such a compound labelwherein the inner label is secured in place in a normal manner while theouter label is lightly secured thereto by means of a tear strip havingadhesive on opposite surfaces thereof, opposite ends of the outer labelbeing secured to the strip about the inner label and being lightly heldon the inner label by means of the elongated tear strip.

Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention willbecome apparent from the following detailed description of the inventionwhen considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. I is a horizontal cross-sectional view of the compound label inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the manner of applying the compoundlabel to the neck of a bottle;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the compound label in place on theneck of a bottle;

FIG. 4! is a sectional view through the compound label and the bottleneck taken substantially along the line 1-d of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the manner of removing the outerlabel from the inner label, and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the inner label remaining on theneck of the bottle after the outer label has been removed therefrom.

Turning now to the drawings, wherein like reference characters refer tolike and corresponding parts throughout the several views, there isshown a compound label comprising an inner label I] and an outer label12, the inner label having along its inner surface at one end thereof astrip of adhesive material 13 to facilitate securing the inner label tothe neck of a bottle Bin the customary manner as by overlapping theopposite ends thereof about the bottle neck.

An elongated tear strip 14, having adhesive material on oppositesurfaces therof, is provided for both securing the outer label in placeand for facilitating removal of the outer label therefrom. The strip 14is lightly gummed with adhesive along its inner surface so as to preventshifting of the outer label while in place. The quantity of adhesivematerial along the outer surface of the strip is slightly heavier so asto permit the opposite ends of the outer label to be securely affixedthereto. As can be clearly seen in FIGS. 2 and 4, one end 15 of theouter label is disposed over the outer adhesive label of the stripsubstantially along the longitudinal center line thereof between itsopposite edges. The other end in simply overlaps both the remainingportion of the strip and the end so as to be thereby securely held inplace.

lFllG. 3 shows the compound label 10 as it appears affixed to the neckof the bottle B. In order to quickly and conveniently remove the outerlabel from the bottle, the elongated strip is of such a length as toextend outwardly beyond the lower edge of the outer label so as todefine a tear tab 17. When the bottle's contents are used up, the userthen simply lifts the tear tab 17 and pullsthe tear strip 114! upwardlyto thereby tear the outer label on opposite edges of the tear strip in amanner shown partially in FIG. 5 of the drawings. In this way, the outerlabel may be completely removed from the inner label and by reason ofthe light adhesive on the inner surface of the tear strip, the innerlabel is left completely intact on the neck of the bottle upon completeremoval of the outer label, as can be clearly seen in lFlG. a.

It should be noted that the outer surface of the outer label may containadvertising indicia to identify the contents and the manufacturer whilethe inner label 111 is of a completely distinctive character from thatof the outer label by reason of its bright color or luminescence, orsome other type of signalling indicia.

From the foregoing it can be seen that a simple and economical, yethighly effective, means for quickly signalling the bartender or waiterto serve a reorder of a bottle of beer, for example, has been devised ina manner whereby an inner, distinctively colored or otherwiseidentifiable label is exposed after the patron removes the outeradvertising label therefrom.

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present inventionare possible in the light of the above teachings. It is therefore to beunderstood that within the scope of the appended claims, the inventionmay be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

What is claimed is:

l. A compound label for a container, having an inner label adhesivelysecured thereto, an outer label comprising a single-ply sheet beingdisposed over said inner label, and having adhesively secured at one endthereof an elongated tear strip, said tear strip being lightlyadhesively secured to said inner label, and the other end of said sheet,opposite said one end, being adhesively secured to the outer portion ofsaid tear strip, said tear strip extending outwardly of said outer labelthereby defining a tear tab to be lifted for removal of said tear stripthereby tearing that portion of each said end of said sheet which issecured to said tear strip completely away from the remaining portionthereof so as to completely expose said inner label.

2. The compound label according to claim 1, wherein said one end of saidsheet is secured to the outer portion of said tear strip between theopposite sides thereof, and said tear tab extending outwardly from thelower edge of said outer label.

1. A compound label for a container, having an inner label adhesivelysecured thereto, an outer label comprising a singleply sheet beingdisposed over said inner label, and having adhesively secured at one endthereof an elongated tear strip, said tear strip being lightlyadhesively secured to said inner label, and the other end of said sheet,opposite said one end, being adhesively secured to the outer portion ofsaid tear strip, said tear strip extending outwardly of said outer labelthereby defining a tear tab to be lifted for removal of said tear stripthereby tearing that portion of each said end of said sheet which issecured to said tear strip completely away from the remaining portionthereof so as to completely expose said inner label.
 2. The compoundlabel according to claim 1, wherein said one end of said sheet issecured to the outer portion of said tear strip between the oppositesides thereof, and said tear tab extending outwardly from the lower edgeof said outer label.